Curatorship task

Photographic Heros

exhibition leaflet

Brainstorming ideas

artists to be exhibited

Bandele 'Tex' ajetunmobi

bandele ajetunmobi, often referred to simply as 'tex', is a self-taught photographer is known for his candid photos of daily life in East London, particularly WHITE-CHAPEL, Stepney, and Mile End. His casual approach to taking photos reveal an authentic intimacy and comfortable relationship between camera and subject.

colin jones

Born in London in 1936, Colin Jones' creative life followed an unorthodox trajectory: From a working-class childhood in the East End of London to dancing in the English Royal Ballet. Jones is one of the most celebrated and prolific photographers of post-war Britain. He has documented facets of social history over the years as diverse as the vanishing industrial working lives of the Northeast (Grafters), delinquent Afro-Caribbean youth in London (The Black House), and the high-octane hedonism of Swinging London with his famous pictures of The Who early in their career (Maximum Who).

syd shelton

Syd Shelton was born in Pontefract, South Yorkshire in 1947. He studied painting at Leeds College of Art before becoming a photographer and graphic designer. in 1976 he became involved with Rock Against Racism, a collective of political activists and musicians that organised concerts across the country with an anti-racist message. He documented the organisation’s efforts as their official photographer.

From 1976 - 1981, photographer Syd Shelton documented Rock Against Racism, formed by a collective of musicians and political activists to promote racial harmony through music. Under the slogan 'Love Music, Hate Racism', it was one of the first organisations that actively showcased reggae and punk bands on the same stage, attracting large multicultural audiences. At a time when the National Front and fascist attitudes were gaining increasing support, Rock Against Racism marked the rising resistance to institutionalised and violent racism.

Leaflet

further artist research

gavin watson

Gavin Watson was born in London in 1965 and grew up on a council estate in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. He bought a Hanimex camera from Woolworths in his early teens and began to take photographs. Upon leaving school at the age of sixteen, Watson moved back to London and became a darkroom assistant at Camera Press. He continued to photograph his younger brother Neville and their group of skinhead friends in High Wycombe.

​The ‘Wycombe Skins’ were part of the working-class skinhead subculture brought together by a love of ska music and fashion. Although skinhead style had become associated with the right-wing extremism of political groups like the National Front in the 1970s, Watson’s photographs document a time and place where the subculture was racially mixed and inclusive.